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Mindfulness can control depression as well as mood-boosting drugs, the biggest ever review of the practice has shown.

A meta-analysis into the effectiveness of the treatment by Oxford University found that the therapy prevented people relapsing as well as anti-depressants.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (MCBT) claims to combine ‘ancient wisdom with 21st century science’. Through meditation techniques, patients are encouraged to accept their negative thoughts and feelings without allowing them to alter their emotional state or send them into a spiral of despair.

“It offers people a safe and empowering treatment choice alongside other mainstay approaches such as maintenance antidepressants.”

Prof Willem Kuyken, Oxford University

Patients who practiced mindfulness therapy were 23 per cent less likely to become depressed again within five months even if they stopped taking their medication, compared to those who continued the pills. However the researchers say it is too early to say that the therapy is better than drugs.

Nevertheless the researchers claim it offers an alternative for the millions of people who suffer recurrent depression.

Lead author, Willem Kuyken, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre said: “The results of the meta-analysis tell us that there is a small but significant benefit of MBCT when delivered alongside or as an alternative to antidepressants, in terms of reduced rates of relapse.

“While MBCT is not a panacea, it does clearly offer those with a substantial history of depression a new approach to learning skills to stay well in the long-term.

“It offers people a safe and empowering treatment choice alongside other mainstay approaches such as cognitive-behavioural therapy and maintenance antidepressants.

“We need to do more research, however, to get recovery rates closer to 100 per cent and to help prevent the first onset of depression, earlier in life.”

The MBCT program is a group intervention which takes place two hours a week for eight weeks and a full day class on the fifth week. However much of the work is done outside of classes, when patients use guided meditations to make mindfulness a part of their daily lives.

The analysis looked at nine trials conducted in the UK, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland. They found that 38 per cent of people who received mindfulness therapy had a depressive relapse within five months compared with 49 per cent who did not receive the treatment.

There are around three million people suffering from depression in Britain and without ongoing treatment, four in five will relapse at some point. The study showed that mindfulness was particularly helpful for people with most depressive symptoms.

In 2015 there were nearly 60 million antidepressant medicines dispensed in England – almost twice as many as in 2004.

However many anti-depressants have severe side-effects and can even lead to suicidal thoughts. In contrast the new study found no evidence of adverse events associated with mindfulness therapy.

Sir Simon Wessley, professor of psychological medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London said: “We already know that the best treatments for depression involve talking therapies and antidepressants.

“This study confirms that mindfulness is an effective talking therapy, probably about the same as antidepressants, and that both together reduces relapse. If I got depressed I would continue to want a talking treatment and an antidepressant. “

Richard Byng, Professor of Primary Care, University of Plymouth and one of the co-authors added: "While the evidence is from a relatively small number of trials, it is encouraging for patients and clinicians to have another option.

“Clinicians need to be cautiously optimistic when tapering off antidepressant medication, and treat each patient as an individual who may or may not benefit from both MBCT and other effective treatments."

Stephen Buckley, Head of Information at the mental health charity Mind, added: “We know that mindfulness can be useful for many people experiencing depression. We welcome research like this which adds to our understanding of the treatments that work for people with mental health problems. As with all areas of mental health, however, there is still more research that needs to be done.

“Different people will find that different treatments can help manage their mental health so what is most important is that that people have the right access to the treatment that works for them whether this is medication, talking therapies, or alternative therapies such as mindfulness, exercise and arts therapy.”